3 August 2025
By Tom Collins
tom@TheCork.ie

Politics/Economy

Independent Ireland Chairperson and Cork North-Central TD, Ken O’Flynn, has launched a stinging critique of the Government’s failure to respond to what he calls “a slow-motion collapse” of Ireland’s small business sector.

Since the current administration took office, more than 3,250 businesses across the country have shut their doors for good, with the rate of closures picking up speed since April. Deputy O’Flynn said. “These are real businesses—family-run cafés, local restaurants, independent shops—each one a story, a livelihood, a cornerstone of a community.”

Citing figures from Procure.ie and the Restaurants Association of Ireland, O’Flynn noted that over 200 hospitality businesses have closed this year alone, averaging more than ten closures a week in the food-led sector.

“We are witnessing the slow death of Irish hospitality,” he said. “And it’s not because these businesses were poorly run or unwanted—far from it. It’s because they’ve been left stranded. Soaring insurance costs, energy bills, rising wages, and the withdrawal of Covid-era supports have created a perfect storm. And the Government is just watching it happen.”

O’Flynn was scathing about what he described as the Government’s “empty talk” on enterprise. “They campaign on promises to support small business, but the reality is denial, drift, and detachment. Business owners are being strung along, told help is on the way—yet no credible measures have materialised.”

He said the consequences go far beyond balance sheets: “What we’re losing here is not just jobs. We’re losing the character of our towns, the lifeblood of our streets, the places we meet, eat, and celebrate.”

Deputy O’Flynn is calling for a national rescue package tailored to the needs of small businesses, particularly in hospitality and retail. He said the measures needed are clear: a return to the 9 per cent VAT rate for food-led hospitality, emergency energy rebates for SMEs, low-interest liquidity loans for viable but strained businesses, and fast-track reforms to slash insurance and commercial rate burdens.

“Small business owners need urgent support or the shutters will continue to come down and rising unemployment, more emigration of our young people and empty towns and villages will follow”